European integration

• August 9, 1961: Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan has presented the UK’s first application for membership of the European Union’s European Economic Community (EEC).

• January 14, 1963: The first veto of General de Gaulle to enter the United Kingdom was issued on November 27, 1967.

• January 1, 1973: The United Kingdom joins the EEC along with Ireland and Denmark.

• June 5, 1975: In a referendum to keep their country in the EEC, the British won more than 67 per cent of the “yes” vote.

Thatcher Turn

• November 30, 1979: Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher calls for a reduction in British participation in the European budget “I want my money back” (“Give me my money back”). It was available in 1984. Oppose any federal development in European construction in 1988.

Close D Exception

• February 7, 1992: The Maastricht Treaty, the second most basic law of European construction since the Treaty of Rome in 1957, has been signed.

• July 23, 1993: Conservative Prime Minister John Major approved the Maastricht Treaty in Parliament after he threatened to resign.

The success of the “vacation”

• 29 Mars 2017: Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, received a letter from British Prime Minister Theresa May activating Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty: The Brexit process is officially underway. It should be completed in theory by March 29, 2019.

• November 22, 2018: One week after the signing of the “withdrawal agreement”, the European Union and the UK reached a tentative agreement on post-Brexit relations. The draft agreement was approved at the Extraordinary European Summit in Brussels on the 25th.

The siege of London

• July 24: Brexit supporter Boris Johnson replaces Theresa May, who resigned on October 31 with or without a contract.

Also read: At 10 Downing Street, Boris Johnson promises “Brexit at all costs”

New contract and third postponement

The British MPs postponed the text of the exit from the European Union, forcing the head of government to ask Brussels to postpone Brexit further, this time on January 31, 2020. Early assembly elections are scheduled for December 12.

At the end of the ballot, Boris Johnson won a large parliamentary majority (365 deputies out of 650) and allowed the divorce agreement to be negotiated with Brussels on January 9.

• January 31, 2020: Brexit will take effect at 11:00 pm (London time and GMT). A transition period is planned until December 31, 2020, and the possibility of expansion will allow London and Brussels to define their new relationship, especially on a commercial level. In June, the United Kingdom refused to extend the transition period beyond the end of the year.

• December 24: After repeated talks, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von Der Lane announced a compromise, just a week after the end of the transition period.

• December 30: The day before the separation, the UK and the European Union must ratify the agreement.

Read also: European Union signs post-Brexit agreement on the eve of historic divorce